Donald Hugh "Don" Henley (born 22 July 1947) was an American rock singer-songwriter and record producer who was best-known for being the drummer and co-lead singer for the Eagles from 1971 to 1980 and from 1994 to 2016, in addition to having a successful solo career during the 1980s and 1990s. He was also known for his involvement with the Walden Woods Project nonprofit organization and with Democratic Party politics.
Biography[]
Donald Hugh Henley was born in Linden, Cass County, Texas on 22 July 1947. He attended Stephen F. Austin State University and North Texas State University, graduating from college in 1969. He became involved with the band Shiloh during the 1960s, moving to Los Angeles after the band scored a record deal with Amos Records in June 1970. Henley met Glen Frey in Los Angeles, and they co-founded the band "Eagles" in September 1971, signing to Asylum Records. In 1972, the band's first studio album Eagles was released, containing the hit song "Take It Easy", and the band would become a great hit, with Henley being both drummer and co-lead singer. He sang lead vocals on hit songs such as "Desperado", "Witchy Woman", "Best Of My Love", "One of These Nights", "Hotel California", "The Long Run", "Life in the Fast Lane", and "Wasted Time". After the band's 1980 breakup, Henley embarked on a successful solo career, featuring in a duet with Stevie Nicks, "Leather and Lace", in October 1981. In 1983, his song "Dirty Laundry", a song criticizing yellow journalism, became another hit. In 1984, his single "Boys of Summer" won several MTV Video Music Awards.
Henley also became a political activist, fighting to protect the Walden Pond's woodlands in Massachusetts from development. Henley supported ecological education and research, protecting the Texas wetlands where he grew up. In 2000, he founded the Recording Artists' Coalition, protecting musicians against businesses. In 2001 and 2003, he testified before US Senate committees as the RAC's leader. Henley was also active in donating money to Democratic Party candidates, having given $680,000 to them, and he opposed the Iraq War.